Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Diary of the Dead

Play trailer Poster for Diary of the Dead R 2008 1h 35m Horror Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
62% Tomatometer 128 Reviews 41% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
While on location filming a horror movie, a group of college students find themselves overrun by zombies, and ultimately end up capturing the epidemic on film.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Diary of the Dead

Diary of the Dead

What to Know

Critics Consensus

As Diary of the Dead proves, time hasn't subdued George A. Romero's affection for mixing politics with gore, nor has it given him cinematic grace or subtlety.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More (128)
Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle It's rough around the edges, dirty in the middle, and stained through with a sort of nihilistic humanism that ultimately unsettles more than the lurching undead themselves. Rated: 3.5/5 Oct 18, 2008 Full Review Desson Thomson Washington Post We want to high-five Romero for finding new ways to off his lifeless marauders. Jul 16, 2008 Full Review Manohla Dargis New York Times It's clever, or at least clever enough to keep you going and interested from start to finish. It just isn't scary. Rated: 2.5/5 Apr 14, 2008 Full Review Dan Sallitt Senses of Cinema George Romero's Diary of the Dead suffers from an excess of personality rather than a lack of it. Oct 12, 2018 Full Review Mark Asch Stop Smiling One needn't be a splatter junkie to miss Romero's marshalling of action across multiple theaters. But the maestro finds a way to slay intellectual and aesthetic antsiness with the same bullet. Sep 30, 2014 Full Review Kelly Vance East Bay Express Not the best but certainly far from the worst of Romero's series of accounts of an epidemic of dead people coming to life to eat the living. Apr 28, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (1000+)
Eloise Y. interesting take on the zombie genre. I liked how it shows society falling apart through the lens of found footage but that’s about all I liked. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 10/23/25 Full Review Daniel D A bad actor can make good dialogue sound bad, and a good actor can make bad dialogue sound good. But a bad actor can’t do much with bad dialogue. The idea behind it feels noble, but the execution is not there at all. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 10/17/25 Full Review Robert W It started off alright, with a premise that seemed pretty funny. I was enjoying the overall silliness and thought it was going to be harmless. But then, things took a turn I wasn't expecting, and the humor started to feel off. Suddenly, there were these moments that felt racially charged, and it just didn't sit well with me. Honestly, I'm just so done with encountering that kind of stuff everywhere. It completely ruined the experience, and now I just feel disappointed with it. I wish they could have just kept it light and fun, without needing to bring that into the mix. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 10/13/25 Full Review George M The only 'found footage' movie I've ever enjoyed. At least we know why the footage survived, unlike something like say, Blair Witch. So people are getting killed and the camera person keeps filming? Yeah, I don't think so. Anyhow, this one has a decent cast and story. Sadly, this is the last good film Romero made. The follow up, Survival of the Dead is a total loser. This is enjoyable from beginning to end. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/12/25 Full Review Sean R I am a fan of the Romero zombie movies and when it is done right, I like found footage films so the idea of mixing the two is very interesting. However, it did not turn out good in my opinion. Taking us back to the beginning of the zombie apocalypse and having film students documenting the outbreak sounds fun, but the scares are few and the constant narration and cuts to shots of other outbreak areas is too much and interrupts the flow of the film. The potential is there but it is like the movie never really finds its footing. It is not a bad movie, but it is not a very good one either. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/23/25 Full Review Jose Z Muy buena, pero si hay momentos que aburre, me imagino así sería una apocalipsis zombie Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/05/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Diary of the Dead

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Diary of the Dead

Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - The Women's Dorm Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - The Women's Dorm 2:24 Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Too Easy to Use Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Too Easy to Use 1:55 Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - All That's Left Is to Record Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - All That's Left Is to Record 2:01 Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Family Reunion Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Family Reunion 1:51 Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Amish Zombie Killer Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Amish Zombie Killer 1:49 Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Scythe Sacrifice Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Scythe Sacrifice 1:57 Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Warehouse Showdown Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Warehouse Showdown 2:11 Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Dead Doctor, Dead Nurse Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Dead Doctor, Dead Nurse 1:35 Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - See How It Feels? Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - See How It Feels? 2:00 Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Zombie State Trooper Diary of the Dead: Official Clip - Zombie State Trooper 2:03 View more videos
Paranormal Activity 82% 57% Paranormal Activity Watchlist Wrong Turn 2 67% 48% Wrong Turn 2 Watchlist The Gravedancers 100% 45% The Gravedancers Watchlist Planet Terror 77% 77% Planet Terror Watchlist Turistas 19% 28% Turistas Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis While on location filming a horror movie, a group of college students find themselves overrun by zombies, and ultimately end up capturing the epidemic on film.
Director
George A. Romero
Producer
Peter Grunwald, Art Spigel, Ara Katz, Sam Englebardt
Screenwriter
George A. Romero
Distributor
Weinstein Co.
Production Co
Artfire, Romero-Grunwald
Rating
R (Pervasive Language|Gore|Strong Horror Violence)
Genre
Horror, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 15, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$952.6K
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
Most Popular at Home Now